Polishing Helga
by Katikinzz
Summary: Sequel to A Weird Alliance. Helga has to try and get over Arnold for good, but can she do it? And can he get over his new feeling for her? Read to find out! ;)
1. Chapter 1

It seems like years since Helga has stepped foot into Dr. Bliss's office. The entire building is the same, cold yet comforting with the aroma of lilacs in the air. The receptionist at the front desk looks a teenager probably only a few years older than Helga, herself. The only reason that Helga is down here to begin with is because of Arnold. He wanted her to discuss her anger towards people with the same woman that had helped her throughout elementary and part of middle school. He remembered how it seemed like every time Helga had walked out of the office, she was like a new person. He wanted to help her find a way to stay like that. About a week ago, Helga and Rhonda had gotten into a yelling match in the school parking lot. Thanks to Arnold, Helga was able to stay calm and refrain from violence, thus ensuring that she would not be punished, unlike Rhonda who had gotten two days of detention for public disturbance. People in school started looking up to her as more of a hero than a bully. All Helga wanted to do was to keep that title and thanks to Arnold, she was able to. She was over ecstatic to have Arnold as a friend. He made it clear that they would never be anything more than friends, but knowing that he never gave up on her, just like she never gave up on him, made the whole thing worthwhile. A couple more days into school, Helga felt herself getting angry again, probably due to her home-life and a few other students who still made fun of her looks and old personality. When Arnold could see her struggling to keep herself under wraps, he knew that he had to do something. He told her that she needed to talk to someone. He would have offered himself, but he felt like that would have given the wrong message. Instead he directed her back to Dr. Bliss, and that is why she is standing at the receptionist's desk right now.

"Hello I was wondering if I could talk to Dr. Bliss?" Helga asks in her polite voice. The one people often use when talking to professors or their employers.

"Do you have an appointment?" The young girl behind the counter asks. She doesn't look up but instead stares at the computer. Helga leans in a bit to try and see the screen, suspecting the girl to be on some social networking site.

"No, but trust me, Dr. Bliss will be happy to talk to me." Helga ensures the girl. She leans in a bit more, almost falling over the counter. Aha. The girl is on twitter.

The girl clicks the red X at the top of the screen and actually looks at Helga. She sends her a coy smile and says, "I'm sorry, but Dr. Bliss doesn't take visitors unless they have appointments."

"Then can I make an appointment?" Helga asks hostilely.

"I'll have to check, but the computers are being slow today so it may be better if I just asked her later. Can I get back to you?"

"The computer is slow?" Helga yells. "Are you kidding me?! I just saw you tweeting about your job, but you are going to say that they aren't working?! Well I wonder why that would be! How about you go and get Dr. Bliss right now or I'll..."

"Helga?" Calls a friendly voice from the doorway to the offices. Helga sees Dr. Bliss and all of her anger disappears. She runs over and can't help but to give Dr. Bliss a hug. "Melanie, why didn't you tell me that Helga was here?"

"Because she didn't have an appointment." Melanie grumbles.

"Well, Helga is on an elite list. She doesn't need an appointment as long as I'm free." Dr. Bliss explains. She ushers Helga into a room a couple of doors down. "Sorry about Melanie. She isn't all that friendly with people sometimes, but she is my daughter. "

"Hey this is a new room." Helga says as she looks around. Although she is upset about the different view, she is content with the fact that the furniture is in identical places.

"We all felt like there needed to be a bit of change around her, we lost some people and gained some others, it was only natural that some of us can be upgraded. I feel like this room really does have a good energy surrounding it. Don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess." Helga says as she lies down in a chair.

"So, Helga, it's been a while." Dr. Bliss starts. Helga looks at her for the first real time in years. She sees the little gray hairs that seem to fall in between the dark brown color of her natural locks. "What's new? How's Arnold? Do you still like him?"

"Actually, yeah, I do. We're friends now. I had tried talking to him and telling him that I liked him, but that actually made it worse. Then I tried to talk some mean girl into helping me forget about him and that just made everything worse."

"Sounds like a lot has happened." Dr. Bliss says as she takes notes in a small pink notebook that she reserved just for her visits with Helga.

"But, then in the end, Arnold saved me. That's just what he does though, he helps everyone out. He was the one who encouraged me to come and see you again. He thinks that you have been a big help." Helga explains. She waits for a second. She doesn't hesitate for Dr. Bliss's sake as much as her own. "There was something that you told me in our first meeting that I don't agree with, and it's been bugging me a lot this past week."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"You said that although I shouldn't sock Brainy, it would be okay for me to boss around the other kids." Helga says as she sits up to look Dr. Bliss in they eye.

"Helga, I just didn't want you to completely change. I wanted you to know that it is okay to be you. If I had told you not to, then you might not have come back. Think of all the progress that we could have lost."

"Well yeah, but because I thought it would be okay to keep bossing people around, I lost a lot of friends. I actually made quite a few enemies."

"Helga, I'm sorry, I didn't know that all of this would've happened."

"No, it's okay Doc. I should've been the one to know better. Arnold has been bugging me about it for years" Helga lays back down and stares at the ceiling, tracing the pattern with her eyes.

"Sounds like this Arnold kid is a really good friend. I'd like to meet him sometime." Dr. Bliss adds.

"I just have one more question for the day."

"Yes, Helga. What is it?" Dr. Bliss says relieved of the subject change.

"Am I really that ugly?"

Dr. Bliss smiles and says, "Helga, you are one of the most beautiful young ladies to ever step foot into my office."


	2. Chapter 2

Helga goes home from her appointment. Dr. Bliss encourages Helga to talk more to Arnold because she believes that Arnold is able to help her calm down. She tells Helga that in order to be happy she needs to get rid of all her anger. Initially, Helga had thought about laughing, her life and her family made her angry every single day. Telling her not to be angry is the same thing as telling Eugene not to be happy. It was just something that was never done. The probability of it happening was the same as Helga asking Arnold for help when she is a clear state of mind. Dr. Bliss had told Helga that since Arnold was such a good influence on her, Helga should ask him for help. What he would do is stand near her when she is about to get angry and help settle her down. Helga was supposed to go up to him and ask for his help. The only problem being that Helga was way too nervous to talk to him at all.

Helga knew that she needed to officially get over Arnold. She knew it, she didn't need Phoebe or anyone else to tell her, because she wanted it as much as they did. She pined after Arnold for so long that she really didn't give anyone else a chance. As much as she wanted to believe that Brad could count, she knew that whole relationship was a fluke. To Helga, its seems as though, every attempt that she makes for happiness in her life just goes to waste, which just leads to more and more anger. Although Helga could understand why Dr. Bliss wanted her to talk more to Arnold, she didn't think it would help the fact that she desperately wanted to avoid him at all costs. Arnold was the only person who never made her mad. Sure she pretended that she was angry at him all the time, but it was never genuine. She could never actually hate Arnold. All Dr. Bliss was trying to tell her was that Arnold may just be a good influence on her. She wasn't saying that Helga should worship him again, just that she should keep him as a friend because whether she showed it to him or not, he brought out the best in her.

As much as Helga wanted to forget about her love for Arnold, she knew that it was not going to be easy. She even knew that the mere thought of it may just break her heart forever. That is what made this next part, really hard.

It was about nine-thirty/ten o'clock at night when Helga was checking her social networking sites. Lately she had been mentioned in the statuses in about half her friends over the Rhonda argument in the parking lot. When she was scrolling through she saw that Arnold was upset with the boarders and his crazy grandparents. He wanted to get out of the house desperately but knew that he couldn't. Helga picks up her phone and texts him to see if he's okay. He tells her that he's just upset that due to his grandparents' ages he has to be the one to take care of the boarding house and its tenants. She tells him about how unfair it is that he has to do that and explains what she thinks he must be feeling but inside she knows how it feels being the one to take care of everything. She was the one who convinced her mother to go to Rehab and she is the one who has to help control her father's anger even when she can't control her own. She constantly feels like the adult in the house especially since it became just her and her dad. A couple of weeks ago Miriam had come home and luckily for Helga she brought Olga along with her.

She doesn't share this with Arnold, who texts back, telling her that she is exactly right. He then goes on to explain how he misses his parents, how he has so much and yet it seems like nothing, and how sometimes he just wishes that he had a girlfriend to get his mind off of it. He says this unknowingly, forgetting that he was talking to Helga. Although he didn't mean to be insensitive, Helga can't help but feel a pain in her chest. She goes on to explain how any girl would be lucky to have a guy like him, because after all, he is one of the sweetest and cutest guys in their grade. He thanks her and calls her sweet, making sure that she knows that he really appreciates what she is doing for him. After a slight hesitation Helga asks him about the girl that he likes. She knows that it isn't her but she can't help but hope with her entire soul that there is still a chance. He takes a while to respond and her hopes rise, wondering if the reason he has been taking so long to respond is because maybe, just maybe, he is too afraid to tell her his own feelings.

When her phone finally vibrates she picks it up slowly and opens the text she opens her eyes slowly and sees just two letters, initials, but not her initials. She tells him that whoever the girl is, she is very lucky. He doesn't respond so Helga sends another text telling him to go for it and ask her out. She explains that he will never know if she likes him back if he doesn't try first. She hopes that somehow she read the message wrong and he was really talking about her, but she also knew that it wasn't. After she sends the message she starts to cry. She wants to go over to him and tell him that there are better girls right in front of him. She wants to slap him across the face to bring him to his senses. Instead she sits in her room staring at her phone realizing that this may be the only way that she can actually get over him. Arnold texts back sharing his problems about being too afraid to say anything because it has never really worked out in the past. She tells him that he is insane because no girl in their right mind would reject him. Tears fall down from her face when she apprehends that she is telling the boy that she has been in love with for the majority of her life, to go out and date some other girl. She heard from people in school that it is better to put others first because it will make you feel better inside. She knows now that it is all a lie. It may be okay to help others, but sometimes in doing so, you hurt yourself, and this is the kind of pain that no one could ever want.


	3. Chapter 3

During her two week long Arnold hiatus, Helga had decided that she needed something more to do with her time. She applied for jobs around town. She didn't want to be home because she hated her house, but at the same time if she were too hang out with her friends she would be forced to talk about Arnold. They say the more you talk about someone the more you fall in love with them. She had talked about Arnold so much and for so long, she knew that if she wasn't going to stop now, she may never be able to. At least with a job she would have to focus herself to a completely different subject.

After about two days of filling out applications, Helga got a job at a fast food restaurant. She went in for orientation completely emotionless. Without Arnold as her muse anymore, she reentered a lethargic kind of state. She said nothing as she was forced to sit through a couple of information videos with three other girls. Although she did not personally know any of the other girls, two of them seemed to be really good friends. The third girl attempted to join in the conversation, every so often turning to Helga to see if she had any input. Helga never said a word. Soon enough they got to leave with their new uniforms. Helga tried as hard as she could to try and seem excited to her supervisor but she failed. She went home with her clothes and schedule for the week.

A couple of days later, Helga sighs as she puts on her uniform and walks in for her first day of training. The girl who is assigned to help her, reminds Helga of a more socially acceptable dirty blonde Lila (she doesn't say things like "Ever so"). On her third day of training Helga stands by the cash register and she looks back into the station where the guys are grilling the food. She gasps loudly at whom she sees, Blythe Bennett. He looks up and sees her staring at him. She waves awkwardly before turning around and returning to look at her register. When the crowd clears up she walks back to the grill. He looks at her and smiles.

"Hmmm" He fakes wondering. "Where do I know you from again?"

"I didn't know that you worked here." Helga says angrily.

A couple of people turn to look at her. One boy stops what he's doing and gives her a quizzical glance. "I didn't even know that you could talk."

Helga rolls her eyes and glares at Blythe. "I still hate your brother."

"Everyone does."

"Get back to work, guys. If you want to talk, at least start cleaning." One of the managers says.

Helga lifts up some trays and puts them on the counter. She takes a spray bottle of some sort of cleaning liquid and she sprays each of the trays, keeping them stacked. She lifts one up and she takes a towel to it, wiping off the surface. She finishes by placing a tray liner on top and restacking it below the counter. She does this for each of them. She faces the grill again, tray in her hand, and fixes her gaze once again on Blythe. "You didn't really forget who I was did you?"

"Haha of course not." He grins. "In fact, me and the guys were just talking about you."

"You better not say anything bad."

"In that case, maybe you should give me something good too say."

"Oh shut up! I did nothing to you!" Helga almost yells.

She goes to grab another tray and she sees a customer approach the cash register. She quickly changes to a smile and takes his order. Out of nervousness, she gets it wrong. The manager tells her to yell back to the grill and have them replace it. She calls out to Blythe and gets him to make the new hamburgers. He hands the new ones to her and she gives them to the customer. She sighs and puts her head to the machine. Blythe leaves an hour before her, along with another kid whom Helga had not been introduced to. The kid asks Blythe if he wants to get food before leaving and her turns to Helga before saying. "No. I don't want food here. I'm positive."

Helga goes the extra hour, shaking with nerves. She had no clue what he would say to Brad, and worse, what she would do if Brad ever came in to order food. When she gets out of work she quickly changes in the bathroom to her normal clothes. She orders food, getting a surprised glance from one of the managers. With her hair up and baggy clothes, Helga was not the most attractive girl. And even though she still did not think she was pretty, her hair down and her tight fitting clothes really helped her out. She looked like a completely different person. She would have had her hair in pigtails but she had somehow forgotten her second hair-tie. She hated single ponytails so down was better than nothing. And at least she was still able to wear her hat.

Anyway, Helga packed her stuff up and she left for her house. She thought all night about what had happened between her and Blythe. Sure he was a jerk to her, and she was a bitch right back, but something about it made her upset. The fact that he wouldn't order from her, and the fact that he actually seemed upset that she was there, made her a bit angry. Sure she was in a fight with his brother, so what. She just didn't understand why she was mean to HIM and was bothered by the fact that they couldn't get along. The good thing that had happened though was that with all of the drama between her and Blythe, she never once thought about Arnold.

**I am actually dedicating this chapter to one of my friends. I don't know if he stills reads this so I won't mention a name, but I miss talking to him and I wanted to dedicate this to him! Thanks J. **


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, on her way back from work, Helga's car breaks down. This means for her that she would have to ask her father for rides to and from work for a couple of days. It was Day 1 and she was dressed and ready to go. She jumps into the passenger seat of the car and waits for her dad to start it up. She would have just driven his truck but he needed to do things for himself. Besides, he never really trusted her enough with it. They rode silently for a minute just enjoying the view of the many houses. Finally Big Bob says, "It's such a nice day out today."

Not wanting to start a fight, Helga just agrees slightly miserably and keeps staring out the window. It is of course, a beautifully warm, fall day and Helga gets to spend it flipping burgers for about 8 hours and by the time she is able to leave, the sun will have already set. She was originally going to spend the day with Arnold as he would teach her to relax a bit more. As much as she hated spending more time with him, she knew it was inevitable to her recovery from being a bitch. She was actually extremely excited when they had made the plans. Then she found out about work, and she was sorry that she couldn't hide her extreme distaste.

Her father questioned her tone. Deciding to take an honest approach, Helga responds by telling her dad exactly what she thinks. "I hate that it's such a beautiful day and I have to spend it behind a counter. And what's worse is that next week I have to work 8 hours a day, three days in a row."

It was Helga's first job and she was not quite used to long schedules quite yet. Besides, her father wanted her opinion...so she gave it to him. He was not very pleased with what she had said. "listen up little lady. Don't you think there are days when I wanna just sit in front of the tv all day?"

"You mean like yesterday?" Helga replies. Luckily for her, her father was not really listening to her.

Instead he goes on a rant about how much of a spoiled brat she is. "I mean look at Olga. She has millions ofextracurriculars. She has jobs with twice the amount of hours as you and is she complaining. Of course not. You need a job. Me and Miriam sure as hell aren't gonna support you for the rest of your life."

"I never said I didn't want a job. Remember I was the one who applied for the job in the first place."

All of a sudden Big Bob's large hand come crashing down on the arm rest near Helga's own arm. She jumps and opens the door, running into work as he starts screaming about her. She gets dressed in the bathroom and walks over to a table. She plays with her phone trying to decide if she should call Arnold. After all, she is early so she can't start yet. After about a minute, Blythe joins her.

He sits down and for some reason she can't help but to smile a bit. She holds her Ipod in front of her face, hoping that it would help shelter her from him. He says Hi, forcing her to then put her Ipod down. She doesn't care how mad she is at her father or how angry she is that she didn't say the things that she really wanted to say, because there was absolutely no way that she was going to let Blythe see her upset. She cannot think of any reason, however, to smile, but for some reason she does. She suspects that she is smiling because she is away from Big Bob, but that is not how Blythe sees it from the other side.

"So." Blythe starts. "How is this 'Arnold' doing?"

Helga blatantly groans.

Blythe laughs and says, "That bad?"

"He knows that I like him, of course. But it's like, as soon as he knew, he almost started showing interest. Almost. Well no, technically he practically ignored me. Since then he either likes me or he still ignores me. Sources say that he likes me now but I don't know. I understand that I am not the best person to be around, but why should that make it okay for him to treat me like I have no feelings."

"That's not okay." Blythe says nonchalant. "Everyone has feelings. I mean, take me for example. People look at me and they see a stuck up rich boy, but I'm really not. I am probably the most chill person you will ever meet."

Helga chuckles softly. She gets mad for allowing herself to almost cry in front of him, but forces a smile to show that nothing is wrong.

"Now, I have a feeling that this Arnold guy may not be the reason that you seemed upset before I sat down."

"Yeah, as if I am really going to tell you about it, geekbait." Helga says angrily, remembering a word that she had not used in a long time. She remembers that she needs to be less angry and she adds, with a certain haste in her voice, "Besides you wouldn't want to hear the story anyway."

"Why not, I have time. My shift doesn't start for about half an hour." Blythe smiles.

"Cool." Helga shrugs with her anger clearly shining through. "Fortunately, my shift starts now."

Helga smirks and walks to the front counter where she punches in. She looks to the side where she can see Blythe looking down at his phone. She rolls her eyes and gets to work. They don't make eye contact for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a couple of weeks but Helga decided it was time to go back to Dr. Bliss. Her car was still in the shop, but she was lucky enough to live close by. She walked over staring at the clouds as she passed by the large buildings. It was cold and snow lay flat among the trees and grass. Helga wore one of her bigger pink (what else) sweatshirts and held her hands tight in her pockets. She looked down at the footsteps in the snow, careful to make sure not to get her feet drenched. As she turned her last corner, she ran into whom else but her former love. "Watch where you're going, Football head!"

"I'm sorry Helga." Arnold said shrugging. "How are you doing anyway?"

"As much as I'd just love to stay and chat, I have IMPORTANT things to do." Helga says. Arnold is immediately taken back by Helga's outwardly rude attitude. Helga stares at his face for a second and apologizes. "This whole being nice thing is not as easy as you make it seem."

"It's not all that hard. You'll get the hang of it." Arnold reassures her. "You're not a bad person, Helga. Well I better be going too. Catch ya around,"

Arnold waves goodbye and starts walking to Gerald's house. He turns his head back as he watches her walk into the building. He faces forward and puts his own hands in his pockets.

When arriving, Gerald is already waiting at the door. He swings it open and Arnold runs inside. The two boys walk to Gerald's room to play video games. Gerald had recently found his old Nintendo 64 and the two of them were perfectly happy to play Super Mario 64 instead of the regular Minecraft, Dishonored, and Call of Duty games. Gerald immediately grabs the green controller and Arnold follows by grabbing the gray one. Realizing that it is not a two player game, Arnold drops the controller and snickers softly.

"What's wrong with you, man?" Gerald asks, putting the game on pause.

"It's just…. Helga." Arnold states.

"What else?" Dr. Bliss asks the blonde haired girl in front of her.

"I dunno." Helga says shifting into a comfortable position. Normally, adults wouldn't condone teenagers sitting with their feet and neck over the armrests, but Dr. Bliss gave an exception to her preferred patients. "There's this guy at my work. I think I like him. Like, like-like him. But there's still this stupid little voice inside my head telling me that I LOVE Arnold. It's easy to get over liking someone. Arnold liked Ruth, and now? Nothing. But I haven't liked Arnold since I was in preschool. I mean, c'mon Doc, this isn't about like. It's about LOVE. I LOVE ARNOLD. I don't know how to stop."

"Maybe you're not supposed to." Dr. Bliss starts writing in her notebook.

Helga is speechless for a moment. She had accepted the fact that she was obsessed with him, she accepted that she was in love with him, but she always thought that it was like a disease. You suffer for a bit, but soon enough, you will find a cure. Maybe there wasn't a cure.

"You have to get over her, man." Gerald states angrily. "She has been nothing but mean since preschool. Why do you like her?"

"You don't know her like I do." Arnold says as his mind begins to go through a metaphorical flashback.

"Are you even sure that you know her?" Gerald asks as Arnold is suddenly brought back to the present. To be honest, how much did he know about her? They never really talked like friends in the years that they knew each other. It was at that moment when he realized that she was close to being gone. She had a new guy following her. For reasons he could not quite understand, he needed to save her and make her his before she fell in love with Brad. But how?

"Is there any hope for me, Doc?" Helga laughs.

"There is always hope." Dr. Bliss smiles. "Now if you really want to rid yourself of this Arnold problem, were going to have to get back to the beginning. Don't tell me about what happened. I wanna know what you FELT on your first day of preschool."

"Well…"


	6. Chapter 6

Arnold thought long and hard about his decision. On one hand, Helga really was changing and Arnold could honestly feel himself falling for the bad girl. He's grown up with her, knowing that she had a secret and then he found out the truth. She's liked him forever and there was really no chance of rejection. Still, she has not been nice for long. There is no telling what could happen to make her go back to being the mean vicious girl that the entire school feared. It was no surprise that Arnold was completely torn when it came to decisions concerning Helga. What the real surprise was: was how easily Arnold made his decision. "I know what I'm going to do, Gerald."

"If you say so."

Meanwhile, Helga walks out of her appointment with Dr. Bliss. She never really explained her deep feelings to anyone before. Sure she told Dr. Bliss that she loved Arnold and that was an extremely deep feeling and yeah she told stories to people, but she never told stories through feelings. I don't know, it was just sort of new to her. Helga walks down the street with her head tilted up. She stares at the many clouds above her. Her hands remain in the crevices of her pockets. She steps in something wet but realizes that it's just a bit of melted slush. She steps in it again with her other foot just for the sake of being able to. She smiles and walks on. Helga takes out her phone and decides to call Phoebe.

"Hey Pheebs." She says.

"Yes Helga." Phoebe's voice answers on the third ring.

"What are you doing tonight?" Helga says desperately needing some sort of teenagerly advice as well as psychological.

"Oh. Uhm. I already had a prior engagement with Gerald tonight." Phoebe answers quietly. She is answered by silence. "I'm sorry Helga."

"Whatever. It's fine." Helga hangs up, frustrated. She attempts calling a few other classmates but they aren't very fond of her to begin with. Was Helga really this lonely?

At this point Helga was just searching through her contacts for someone to talk to. Then sees the name "UGH Blythe." Not a very flattering name but hey, it couldn't hurt to try calling him. So, of course, that is what Helga does.

"Hello." Blythe's voice rings happily through the phone

"Hey." Helga responds nonchalantly. "I cannot believe that I am about to ask this but do you want to hang out tonight?"

"Okay. Just let me check my Calendar." Blythe says. Although Helga cannot see his face, he bears a giant grin from "ear to ear."

"Your calendar; why would you need a calendar? Since when did you get a life?" Helga says.

"Wow. That's mean, coming from the person who just asked ME out." He laughs.

"I did not ask you out, Geekba…Blythe. It's as friends. I don't want you getting any funny ideas, got it?" Helga commands. She points her finger at a stop sign as she begins to walk across the crosswalk.

"Don't worry. I got it. So, Helga, what exactly are your plans for us tonight?"

At the word "us" Helga cringes. She shakes it out of her mind because she remembers that her plans were strictly revolving around hanging out with a girl. "DAMN!"

Blythe burst into laughter. As much as he tried to hold it in, he could not do it. "You went through all of that trouble to ask me out, which we both know that you never would have thought have doing in a million years, and you don't even have a plan set up." He laughs some more.

"Well if you're so smart. Why don't you just come up with something? We also both know that you have been dying to ask me out since the moment that you laid eyes on me. What do you think about that?"

"I think that that sounds like a beautiful idea. Get ready because I am going to pick you up in an hour."

"I didn't even tell you where I live yet, moron."

"I don't need you to tell me where you live. One of the perks of being rich is that I have my own technology to tell me exactly where I need to be and how to get there in time." Blythe winks, completely forgetting that he is talking over the phone.

"See ya then." Helga says as she hangs up her cell phone. She stops walking and instead looks at the street sign to figure out where she is relative to her home. She realizes that in the midst of talking to Blythe she walked five streets farther than she needed to. She quickly turns around and pretends that she was walking that way to begin with.

Within minutes she is home. Big Bob asks her where she was. Although she is flattered that for once her father is finally paying attention to her, it bothers her that he thinks that he needs to monitor her every mood. I mean c'mon, does he not know how old she is. She does not need Big Bob finally being a parent. She tells him "nowhere" and then runs upstairs to get ready.

She begins to look through her closet but everything has an annoying sameness to it. She wants to look special but she does not really know how. She groans loudly which is answered by a knock on the door. "Don't worry. I'm fine." She calls out.

"What a whack job." Big Bob mutters as he walks away to go back downstairs.

Helga thinks through her wardrobe choices. She knows that there is not a single article of clothing that she owns that will impress him. That leaves one option and one option only: She must raid Olga's closet.

She quietly sneaks past her doorway and tiptoes her way into Olga's room where she slowly shuts the door. Why Olga even still has a room is weird to Helga but at least Helga is old enough to steal and fit into her clothes. In Olga's closet there is the same old uniform-like outfit, along with some old dresses that she wore on very few occasions. Helga slams the closet door in frustration. She walks over to and jumps on the bed. She groans again but this time softer so that no one could hear her. _If I were Olga where would I keep my best clothes? _Helga thinks to herself. She decides to go to one of the most classic hiding places. After all, Olga was never one for originality. She checks under the bed and sure enough there it is: a giant box holding the absolute perfect outfit.


	7. Chapter 7

Helga slowly pulls out the giant box. When it is finally revealed from under the bed, Helga sees in bright green fancy letters the word: special dresses. Helga's grin extends as she opens the box. Sure enough it is filled with tons of dresses. Every dress that is pulled out of the box is in Olga's signature green and black. The first six or seven are all prom dresses. Geez how many proms did she go to. There are sundresses and semi-formal dresses and dresses that people go clubbing in (what has Olga been up to) and then at the very bottom is the dress that Helga had been searching for: strapless mini-dress with a black bow in the middle. The bottoms of the dress rise ever so slightly into the bow creating the perfect touch for Helga's well waited date with Blythe. Although she does not believe that this dress (color) is really her style, she knows that-combined with the hairstyle she has in mind- it is sure to catch him off guard. And what other hairstyle could she possibly use besides the one that first caught Arnold's attention?

Helga puts the dresses back and closes the box, keeping out what she believes to be her secret weapon. She takes the dress and folds the silky fabric under her arm. She peeks below the door making sure that no shadows could be seen. She slowly opens the door, hoping that no one could hear the feint creaking sound that it made. She tiptoes back to her room but the stomping of feet begins to come from the stairway. Helga leaps towards her door and throws the dress inside.

"Baby sister!" A shrill overly pleasant voice calls out. Helga sighs in frustration. Olga is the last person that she wants right now. Or is she? Olga had been staying with her family for a bit of a while, Helga could not pinpoint the exact date; all she knew was that it was way too long.

"What?" Helga answers rudely (although who could blame her).

"It's time for dinner, silly." Olga says. Helga could honestly picture the two of them having a nice sisterly friendship, the only problem was that Olga still treated her like she was six years old. Helga brushes past Olga on her way down the steps. "You know, Helga, I really wish we had a good sisterly friendship. We should share stories, go shopping, do makeup and hair…"

All of a sudden, Helga's eyes light up and she stops walking three steps above the ground. "You know, Olga that might not be such a bad idea, in fact how about we start right after dinner. You can do my hair and makeup. Make me look 'pretty' or whatever."

"Oh Helga that sounds wonderful. I have the perfect styles in mind. Baby sister, you are going to look gorgeous." Olga practically skips down the rest of stairs, leaving a smirking Helga to marvel at her own brilliant plan.

Dinner, of course, is nothing special, just some unrecognizable food that Miriam had cooked up. Even though she did not want to admit it, Helga actually missed it when Olga made dinner. Lately Olga had run out of new recipes. She decided to let her mother cook until she was able to research more meals to make for them. Unfortunately for the Patakis, their digestive systems were not exactly going to thank Olga for her decision.

After dinner at about five o' clock, Helga and Olga walk into Olga's room where out from the top shelf of her closet, Olga takes out a giant glimmering purple box. She opens it up to reveal three different layers of makeup coming out from both sides. Helga cannot remember a time when she saw so much makeup anywhere not even in Sephora (Rhonda had taken her there once). Instead of boring you with the details, here is the short story: Olga had Helga pick out colors. Olga applied the makeup and put Helga's hair into two French braids. You know, fun stuff. Olga keeps trying to figure out why Helga wants her to do all of this, but Helga refuses to answer. Then she starts trying to talk about school and how Helga and her "little friends" are doing, but still Helga does not really try hard to respond. FINALLY at around 6:30 they are done and Helga goes to her room. "Who knew that makeup could take so long to apply." Helga says as she sits by her door.

Now there is only one more obstacle in her way of a perfect date. How to get the dress out the door. It was easy enough. She would just do the backpack trick. She grabs her bag from the corner of her room and gently folds the dress into it (after taking the books out of course). She walks down the stairs and calls out to her dad "I'm going to study at Phoebe's!" And then in a much quieter voice she adds: "As if you guys really care."

She walks out with the door slamming behind her. Out of nowhere Olga comes up to Helga. "Baby sister where are you going?"

"I'm going to Phoebe's to study. Lay off."

"Those don't look like books in your bag. Are you sure, Helga? I just want us to share a bond. I wanna know what's going on in your little life. Please Baby sister."

"We have a project to do… about New York… and their clothes." Helga makes up.

"Ooooo let me see. I just love New York. I went there last year to study the life of Manhattan. It was just beautiful…"

"As much as I would love to sit here and listen to you, I have to go. I'm already late."

"Why don't I give you a ride?"

"I don't need a ride. I have been walking to Phoebe's house since Kindergarten. I do not need you to drive me. Seriously Olga. Back off."  
"I just want us to be closer." Olga starts crying.

"We will be closer. When you give me SOME SPACE."

Olga stops crying automatically and takes on a meaner tone. "Fine, Baby Sister, but when you get home I want to hear about this little project of yours."

"Fine." Helga snaps. As if she would tell Olga anything about her life.

"Oh I wish you were going on a date instead. I have the perfect dress for you. Its green and it has a bow…" Olga fantasizes. She wants the best for her sister but sometimes it is just too much.

"Cool. I have to go." Helga takes off down the street with the exact dress that her sister had recommended. She quickly calls Blythe.

"Hey I'm not going to be at my house. Do you know where Phoebe lives?"

"I'm sure I can figure it out. Is everything okay?" Blythe answers, slightly worried.

"Everything is fine. My sister is just being annoying and it's none of your business. Just drive to Phoebe's house. Got it?"

"Sure. I'll be there in five minutes. I was already on my way. Anyway, see you soon." Blythe laughs.

When Helga gets there she realizes that Gerald's car is in the driveway. _Great. _Helga walks right in. After all, this was sort of like her second home and Mr. and Mrs. Hyerdahl did not care if she walked right in. "Hey Phoebe. Is it okay if I use your bathroom?"

"HELGA?" A petite voice calls from upstairs. "HANG ON."

Phoebe runs down the stairs, her glasses sliding down her nose. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a date."

"I do. I just need a place to change. I stole one of Olga's dresses and she kept following me so I couldn't change over there." Helga says. "So I decided to come over here instead."

"Okay. Gerald is upstairs." Phoebe comments as she points to the stairway.  
"I saw his car."

"I mean…"

"OH. I'll be right here just using the bathroom to change."

Phoebe goes upstairs and Helga indeed changes into Olga's dress. She undoes her hair, which thanks to the gallons of hairspray that Olga put in her hair is still curly as if it had been in a braid overnight. She puts a small black bow in her hair as she looks in her mirror. She smiles knowing that for probably the first time no one could possibly call her ugly. She can't believe that the beautiful girl in the mirror is herself. Even though she is going out with Blythe tonight, a part of her genuinely wishes that Arnold could see her.

She walks out to see Phoebe and Gerald staring in awe at her ensemble. "Wow, Helga, you look exquisite." Phoebe says. Helga's smile widens. Then Gerald adds, "Yeah, Helga, you're looking cool."

Helga looks at her phone and it's been fifteen minutes since she called Blythe. If he stood her up, she would make him sorry.


	8. Chapter 8

Helga immediately starts pacing. _Why is he late? I was so stupid forever thinking that a boy could ever like me. God. Why do I always have to be so mean to everybody? I guess I had this coming. _ Helga thinks to herself. Five more minutes go by and then ten and fifteen. Finally Phoebe stands up and fixes her clock. Helga opens the curtains but she sees no strange cars parked in the street or the driveway. Getting sick of waiting, she grabs her bag and storms to the front door. She swings it open to find Blythe standing in front of it with a bouquet of flowers. "You're late." Helga says irately.

"On the contrary, I have been waiting her for ten minutes. I was right on time. I just like seeing you when you're angry." He smiles. "I parked a couple of houses over and I walked here."

He hands Helga the pink and red roses. She snatches them out of his hand and walks down the stoop closing the door behind her. As she strides over to the car Blythe grabs her arm. When he does this, however, Helga's hand shifts a bit and ends up rubbing against a thorn.

"What is wrong with you? Why would you get roses with the thorns still on them?" Helga yells. She calls him a few names but of course he just responds with a smile.

"Because, they reminded me of you, beautiful at first glance but still badass enough to show people that they shouldn't be messed with."

"Did you just call roses 'badass.'" Helga asks.

"Yeah, roses are the most badass flower of all time. Surely someone has not been reading Home and Garden magazines enough." Blythe says without a hint of sarcasm.

Helga smirks and tries to keep walking, but it just makes Blythe hold on to her arm even harder. "Hang on. Your face?"

"Do you like it?"

"No. I don't." Blythe responds. Helga is immediately taken aback. How dare he say that after all that she's done to look that good? "Helga. Why would you change your appearance?"

"I wanted to look nice for you. Excuse me for wanting to look pretty."

"You look pretty without makeup and with your hair in those pigtails. You look pretty with a scowl on your face when you're yelling at someone. You look pretty when you're looking like you. This isn't you. I didn't want to go out with you because you're a Barbie doll or a fake supermodel. Trust me I know some of those. I wanted to go out with you because you can be beautiful without all of the add-ons. Not a lot of girls can say that about themselves."

"You don't even like my hair…or my dress." Although Helga was sad, her voice shed a painful anger

"Okay well your hair is awesome and that dress is hot. I just don't want you being who you're not."

"I thought you were supposed to get pretty for a date." Helga scowls.

"Yes, but this isn't a date… remember?" Blythe smiles, making Helga rethink everything.

For the first time in a long time Helga is speechless. He takes her hand and leads her to the car. Her scowl is present and Blythe cannot help but to stare and smile. He truly thought that she looked beautiful. He could not tell her that she looked better than normal. He did not want her to think that she had to change herself to be liked. She was fine before.

When they reach the car, Helga is pleasantly surprised that it is a normal teenagers' car and nothing too big or fancy. He gives her a black cloth and tells her to either wear it or keep her eyes closed. She mentions not trusting him but he stops the car until she agrees to wear the blind fold. She puts it on reluctantly and he starts to drive faster than he was. As the minutes ticked on, Helga almost starts getting tired. She almost falls asleep until he opens her door and takes the blindfold off. She takes her shoes off (heels and grass do not exactly mix) and steps out. She sees him with a basket and realizes that her rich date has taken her on a picnic.

"I was expecting something a lot more fancier and money oriented." She says.

"Oh well Chauncey is over there setting up with the catering crew. Brought a couple of maids too. They're gonna be sweeping the sand out of the sand box for us." He laughs.

"Criminy. Why of all things who you choose a picnic on a day like today? It's too cold out here. We're gonna freeze." Helga said wanting to be angry. She wanted to be angry with him because he was a stuck up spoiled rich kid, but there was just that oh so special something about him (as Lila would say).

The two of them start walking to the mystery location. Helga's feet tingle with every step into the smooth green grass circling her toes. Every once in a while she steps in a bit of snow and cringes. At the end of the park there is a small abandoned house. It looks almost like a log cabin. Strange, Helga never noticed it before. Blythe stops walking and unfolds a blue green blanket. On the porch of cabin there is a swing. He gestures for her to sit down before he does. As Blythe sits down next to her he points to the sky. The sun is beginning to light up a sunset of orange and pink. Helga tilts her head a bit to see it. She mentions the cold and he offers her his sweat shirt. She rips it from his hands and throws it over her head. It's a little big but it is definitely warm.

"So are you hungry?" He asks her. She nods her head. He walks inside the cabin and brings out a tray of food.

"Where the heck did that come from?" Helga says as she looks at the unopened basket of food right next to the porch swing.

"I told you. Chauncey and the others are catering for this."

"I thought you were kidding."

"Nooo." Blythe says laughing yet again. "I was kidding when I said the maids would clean out the sandbox. Although I could make that work if you want."

She shakes her head. There is a part of Helga that feels guilty about going out with Blythe when a part of her will always like Arnold.

Remembering the blanket, Blythe lays it across their laps. He goes inside and brings out two mugs filled to the brim with steaming hot chocolate. "I bought this little house a while ago. It gives me space away from all of the richness and stuck-upness of the mansion, although yes, I do have a butler and a maid. I don't come here often so for the most part they run the place together. I don't actually know what they do half the time."

"Why here?" Helga says as she looks around the park.

"It's far away from people. The mansion is extremely busy and no one can bother me here."

After about fifteen minutes the sun sets. The sky turns a dark blue filled with billions of stars. They spend about an hour counting the constellations. Blythe tells a few jokes which actually makes Helga laugh. It is not long before she finds herself actually having a good time.

"You know Helga, I have never met a girl like you."

"Well yeah, I ain't no dime a dozen."

"And you're not fake either. I hate fake girls."

"Well I hate snobby rich kids." Helga says. Blythe's face shows a scared expression which is why Helga replies with: "Which is why I'm glad you're not one."

Blythe smiles and then stands up. He takes the blanket and starts to fold it. "Well this has been quite enjoyable." He says. "I had a great time with you tonight."

"It's only nine o' clock." Helga says, clearly annoyed. "Why are we leaving so early?"

"…To save more excitement for next time."  
"And what makes you think that there is going to be a next time."

"My daddy's rich. He bought me a time machine. I know there will be a next time." He says. Helga cannot help but to smile. She knows that she desperately wishes for there to be a next time as well.

The two of them pack up their things. She notices the picnic basket and remembers that it was never opened. She reaches out for it but Blythe takes it first. He shakes his head and grins his stupid grin.

"Why would you bring that thing if there wasn't anything in it? I mean criminy, what was the point?" Helga yells.

"It was a surprise. Here it's a trickily wrapped present." Blythe says. As Helga pulls out many different objects Blythe explains why they're there. "There is nothing mysterious or special about them. Just some new bows, since I know you like to wear them. A couple new notebooks are in there because you like poetry. There is a flyer or two in there because there are poetry and writing contests where you could win serious cash. There is also a business card in there from one of my dad's friends. He owns a publishing company. If what you're friend Phoebe tells me is true, you're pretty good at writing. You would be a shoe in for getting something published. I don't know. I just thought you would like it."

"Wow. I love it. No one's ever done anything like this for me."

"I know. I wanted you to see me as special as I see you."

"You are just full of surprises."

"Well that was the last one of the night. There will be more next time. I promise." He says.

"Ya know. I think that sounds great." She responds.

The two of them walk back to the car and drive home. When he drops Helga off, she waves and runs up her stairs. Olga immediately knocks on her door to ask about her project. Helga claims that she is too exhausted to talk and promises to tell her sister all about it in the morning. Instead of falling asleep however, Helga stays awake for a couple more hours in order to write more in her diaries. For the first time she learned how to write, Helga writes a poem that is not about Arnold.

**I will probably update this chapter shortly with more details. Until then, I hope you all still enjoy it. :) Thank you for reading. 3**


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Helga wakes up to the sun shining through her window. She jumps out of bed and throws on her favorite pair of jeans. She feels different, good different. Her heart does not feel quite as empty as usual. She twirls around her room until finally landing face up on her bed. "Oh heart, why do you betray me like this. How could I possible love anyone but whom my heart belongs. Oh Arnold, why do I not feel affection to the sound of your name, but instead feel it for another. How could the love that I have found ever replace the love that I lost. Ooo"

"Baby sister!" Olga says, knocking on the door. "Breakfast is ready, and remember, Helga, you promised to tell me all about your little project."

"I'll be right OUT, Olga. Criminy. Why can't you just give me some space?" Helga screams hostilely through the door.

"Well you don't have to be so mean about it." Olga cries. "I just want us to be close."

"You're suffocating me!" Helga says as she puts on her shirt and cap.

"I'll see you downstairs baby sister." Olga ignores Helga's remark and decides to just stay chipper.

Helga grabs her shoulder bag out from the corner of the room. She notices that her books are not in it. She suddenly recalls the moments of last night once more. She takes the dress from the side of her bed and she hugs it as if the memories would somehow come back to her. She throws it back on the ground and grabs the books next to it. She throws them in her bag and she walks out. When she gets to the kitchen she sees that Olga has made homemade waffles from scratch. Helga attempts to grab two off of her plate and head out but her sister insists that she stay and eat.

Olga grabs the waffles from Helga's hands and put them on a plate. She then dresses them with tons of strawberries, an excessive amount of syrup, and a mountain of whipped cream. Although it seems extreme, she says, "Nothing but the best for my baby sister."

"Geez, I'm going to get a heart attack before I leave." Helga says as she looks down. "I swear you're trying to kill me."

"Of course not!" Olga says, offended. "I just want you to enjoy breakfast, Helga. So tell me more about this project. When I was in New York there were these gorgeous lights everywhere it was romantic. You couldn't walk a block without seeing an art show or a music store. It was wonderful."

'Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. We thought we should do our project on homeless people and the hand me downs they have to wear. What can you tell me about that?" Helga says as she watches her sisters face go blank. "OOo? Bad experience?" She takes the last bite of her waffle and stands up from the table. "Well I better get going."

She walks out the front door, grabbing her sweatshirt, and heads to school. On her way she is joined by Phoebe. There was literally no point for Phoebe to drive to school because it was way too close and it was actually a nice day despite the small patches of snow that were melting anyway. "So, Helga, how was your d…plans last night."

"It actually wasn't that bad. He was, I can't even believe that I'm gonna say this, but he was sweet. I guess he owns this little cabin in the park. I never really noticed it before, but sure enough there it was."

"So what are you going to do about… you know… ice cream?" Phoebe knew something that Helga did not, but she was not about to be the person to tell Helga Pataki anything but great news.

"I haven't thought too much about it." Helga lies. "Honestly though. I'm thinking of lying off the ice cream. I mean, its sweet, it looks good but in the end, it's not good for you. Ya know."

"Oh." Phoebe is completely speechless. For many years Phoebe has been keeping Helga's secret and not, just like that, the obsession is over. Did Phoebe believe Helga? Not a bit. "A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, I think it's the best idea." Helga says. There is a moment of silence between the two friends. As soon as the moment is over, they are at school. When Helga walks in she cannot help but to smile, this makes half the school stare at her as she goes to her locker. When she reaches her locker, Rhonda is standing in front of it, waiting for her. "Move it. I have to actually open my locker instead of paying someone else to open it for me."

"Haha. You are so funny." Rhonda says poking Helga in the chest.

"Be careful, princess, you might break a nail." Helga comments, making the group of students surrounding them laugh.

"What is your deal?" Rhonda yells. "I know what you did last night. Don't think that I don't."

"So what? Just because I can get a guy to like me without paying him to, does not mean that you should get jealous."

"Me? Jealous of you? Please. As if." Rhonda rolls her eyes. She leans back against the locker and grins. "I only date boys of high stature and poise. You, however, apparently prefer the misfits and outcasts. Well, Arnold wasn't bad but we all know that he could never like someone as unappealing as you."

"Take that back." Helga says, her hands clenching into tight fists.

"Why should I? Can you blame him? You're a rude nasty little girl with very unattractive features. It's a lose-lose situation. So why exactly did you go for a guy that is way out of your league. Because deep down, you know that Arnold will never, and I mean NEVER, love you back."

Helga lets her anger take over and she punches Rhonda square in the face with Ole Betsy. She opens her locker casually as Rhonda lays on the ground beneath her, completely in shock. Helga fills her bag with everything that she needs for class and closes the locker with a vacant expression. Before walking completely away, Helga stops at Rhonda's head. She leans over and says loud enough for the whole school to hear. "Yes, he was out of my league. But, princess, you're forgetting one thing. I got the boy. The boy that you never had. And that hun, that is exactly what you're jealous about."

Helga walks away with Phoebe walking beside her. The other students cheer, but before Helga is able to get away scotch free, she is stopped by Mr. Simmons (who moved up to the high school some years back) who unfortunately has to usher Ms. Pataki to the principal's office.


End file.
